


Tear My Heart Apart

by cylawings



Series: Bonds and Bombs (Tear My Heart Apart) [2]
Category: Final Space (Cartoon)
Genre: A LOT of Angst, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Dad Gary watching out for Lil Cato, Doomed Timelines, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Nightfall is kinda a dick in this, Takes place after Avocato has died, They bond and its good, Violence, okay so this was supposed to be a short garycatoweek fic then i got carried away, tell me if theres anything else i should tag, typical violent lord commander shiz, up to ep7 spoilers, you know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-22 06:24:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14302767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cylawings/pseuds/cylawings
Summary: Avocato is dead. Gary has questions he doesn't know if he wants the answers to. Lil Cato has a lot of emotions he doesn't know what to do with. Quinn doesn't know how to help. Nightfall says they're in a doomed timeline. Oh, and Lord Commander is still on their butts trying to get Mooncake.Man, everythingsucked. Why did it have tosuck so hard?





	Tear My Heart Apart

**Author's Note:**

> This was GOING to be for day 4 of Garycatoweek, which was for angst, but now I'm entering it for Day 7 which is a free day so welp.This was honestly gonna be a lot shorter originally then ended up ridiculously long??? Oops? (Hopefully its enjoyable nonetheless)  
> It's also a sequel to my fic Bonds and Bombs, but you can totally read this one alone too as long as you know what happened in episode 6/7 cause it references both.
> 
>  
> 
> ALSO HEY PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ ALL THE TAGS BEFORE YOU READ THIS. I got really carried away, this got really long, and when I'm prompted to write angst it gets VERY SAD, so please read them tags and be prepared or just... not read ?? If you don't wanna? (I do promise the way it ends provides some hope so keep that in mind as you go if you must)

“Hey Avocato… A lot has happened since you died. Lil Cato isn't doing super good… He made some pretty bad decisions, I… I didn’t help with those decisions either, honestly I think I kinda helped fuel them? I'm really not good at this whole… _parenting_ thing. You should have asked anyone else to look after him, not me. But… I know you chose me. I know because of how you _looked_ at me before you…

…I-I'm _trying_. But I don't think I'm good enough for him. Uh, in other news a different Quinn from the future showed up! She goes by the name Nightfall. Haha yeah, that's been weird. She chained me to my bed while I was naked? Yeeaah… That was kinda scary actually. She tried to kill Mooncake too. I don't think she's a bad person though, she seems tired… And scared. But she's hiding it all under this tough, grumpy facade.

She kinda reminds me of you in that way.

You know, I keep thinking just… What if your alive? Somehow, you're alive and you're out there, waiting for us to find you and… and…… It’s stupid, I know.

I miss you buddy. Sending my love to you, wherever you may be.”

Gary clicked off his recording device, sitting back slowly with a sigh to stare at the ceiling. It'd only been a little over a week, everything was still rough as far as emotions go. Lil Cato at least was actually talking to him now, he was thankful for that. He asked a lot of questions about his dad, about how Gary knew him, about what they did together… about _everything_. Gary told him all he could, he could see in the kids eyes he was desperate to learn more about his dad and everything he'd missed the last three years. He couldn't help with all of it, but with what little he could he did his best.

Lil Cato seemed to trust him the most. Some silently understood thing where it was obvious he knew his dad trusted Gary the most, so in turn he did too. There was a few nights he showed up in Gary's room. Poor kid… He always showed up shaking, with shiny, wet eyes, and Gary knew what that face meant. He'd been subject to nightmares after everything that had happened to him too, _especially_ over his dad. Usually Gary would get up, go with him to the kitchen to get water and food so he could calm down. They would talk if he was feeling up for it.

Only one night the kid showed up, and he must of thought Gary was still asleep because he crept to the bed quietly, crawled up as close as he dared without actually touching him and stayed there. Gary didn't let him know he'd woken up, not wanting to scare him off. Mooncake had taken notice though, floating over to Cato. It nuzzled his face and allowed him to wrap his arms around it and curl up so he could fall asleep again. Gary waited until he was sure he was asleep to move the blankets over him, before rolling over and falling back to sleep himself. By the time he woke up, Lil Cato was long gone. In the very least, he hoped he hadn’t had any more nightmares that night.

Nightfall was still around, she kinda had to rebuild her ship still and all, but she seemed unbothered by it. She said something about how this wasn't the first timeline this happened in so not to worry about it. Gary decided to do as told cause he had way too many other things to worry about already, he _so_ did not need even _more_. In the very least, he did establish a rule that Nightfall was no longer allowed to be in a room alone with Mooncake. “That's fair,” was her only response before she set back to working.

He did want to talk to her though, wanted to ask something that had been eating at his mind. So, one day while he’d been wandeirng the ship aimlessly he went to see her. “Nightfall…?”

“Hm?” She looked up from where she was sitting on the floor, several tools splayed out around her and pieces of metal in her hands.

“Is… Is there a timeline where we can save him…?”

He didn't need to clarify, she understood, he could see it in the way her hardened eyes softened with sympathy, just a bit. “I can tell you, but only if you think you can handle the answer.”

Gary didn't ask further because honestly? He didn't know if he could.

He and Quinn had set to making plans on what to do about the rift, about Lord Commander. None of this was going to be easy, but Gary also didn't break his promises. He'd promise Quinn he'd help her and he wasn't about to back out now. They would sit sometimes for what felt like hours, around a map, discussing, sometimes even getting into deep discussions with H.U.E. on it. Lil Cato sometimes showed up, but he never said much. He hovered by the doorways, staring at what they were working on with curious eyes, and eventually he'd leave again, scampering off to a different room or into a vent.

There was one night Gary had woken himself up thanks to his own nightmares. Waking up with a silent scream, images of dead eyes staring at him, a hand reaching out for his, a deep voice talking to him though he couldn't remember what he'd said. He remembered reaching out desperately but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't reach him, he couldn't pull him back onto the ship and he had to watch him spiraling out into space knowing he could have saved him. He was breathing heavily, eyes blown wide when he woke. Slowly he curled in on himself, pressing his face against his knees. Mooncake cooed, worried and snuggling up under one of his arms to try and help. He patted it’s head, forcing a small smile to reassure it he was okay.

The dream became reoccurring, weighing heavy on him even into the waking hours of his day to the point Quinn had started to notice. She didn't ask at first, just gave him worried glances. Then one day she finally did, voice soft and concerned as she pulled him aside in one of the halls. He didn't explain much, just said it was nightmares. She asked if it was Avocato, he hesitated, but gave in and nodded. She didn't bother him about it again after that, simply said she was there to listen if he needed it.

One time he went to Avocato's room when he woke from another nightmare, just to find Lil Cato already there. He was asleep on the bed, rolled up in his dad's blankets and face nuzzled against the pillow. After a moment, Gary realized he was clutching his dad's helmet to his chest. That was one of the moments where it really hit him how young Lil Cato was, how scared and alone he must feel without his father, and his heart broke all over again for him. He ended up staying in there with him, sitting down carefully on the edge of the bed and leaning back against the wall. He ended up falling asleep like that.

When he woke he had a horrible pain in his neck from the awkward sleeping position, but it was forgotten when he realized Lil Cato was still there. The kid was also awake now, with the blankets gathered messily around his legs, helmet resting in his lap as he stared at Gary. “Hey small fry,” Gary said, rubbing his eyes as he sat up straighter. 

“Hey,” Lil Cato murmured back. They fell into a silence for a bit, before slowly he asked, “Um… Gary? Do you… get annoyed when I have nightmares…?”

Gary frowned. “Why would I? I have them too lil dude.”

Lil Cato looked up at him, surprised. “Really?”

“Really truly.” 

Slowly, he looked down, “Oh.” Again, silence. “What are they about…?”

Gary frowned, looking away from him, instead at the far wall where Avocato had lined a shelf with random doodads. “Your dad.”

“...Mine are too.”

“Cato, can I tell you something about him I haven't told anyone?” Gary looked back at him and oh god he kinda regretted asking that already.

Lil Cato’s ears twitched, perking up. “Uh, yeah? What is it?”

Gary hesitated when given the okay to talk, suddenly nervous. He swallowed, before simply saying, “I… I think I was kinda in love him.”

Cato was quiet. He gave a soft “oh”, before slowly asking, “Did he… know…?”

“No. No, he didn’t.” Gary said with a defeated sigh, quiet and sad and _tired_.

Lil Cato frowned, before he unraveled himself from the blankets so he could crawl over to Gary. He nosed his way under his arm and leaned against his side, wrapping his arms around him best he could in a slightly awkward hug. He was trying to do the comfort thing, though seemed a little uncertain how well he was doing at it. “I think… I think he would have liked someone like you a lot. He seemed to trust you.”

Gary looked down at him, smiling sadly. “Yeah.” He laughed softly, sorrowfully. “Yeah he sure did, didn't he?”

They stayed like that a long time, the hand Cato had forced himself under absentmindedly stroking his head. It led to a soft purr, and Gary couldn’t help but smile at that. He wondered if Avocato would have been able to purr too. Distant thoughts seeped into the edges of his mind, imagining a sleepy Avocato in bed with him, purring as he nuzzled his face. A happy Avocato purring against his ear as he hugged him from behind. Avocato… Avocato, Avocato, _Avocato_. His brain flooded with “what if”s and fantasies of what could have been. He had to shake the thoughts off when his eyes started to sting. He really didn't want to breakdown crying in front of Lil Cato _again_.

They were closer after that, him and Lil Cato, which Gary hoped was a good thing. The kid stopped hiding as much, coming out more to actually talk and hang out with them all. As he did, he seemed to start getting along better with the others too. He was still intimidated by Nightfall, seeming a little scared she'd be mad at him for messing up her ship, so he really only avoided her now. Gary noticed he'd stand close to his side a lot, and the longer this went on the more a desire to protect this kid formed within him. Was this like what Avocato felt? He was sure it wasn't as strong as Lil Cato’s _actual_ fathers feelings were, but he was pretty sure he understood better than before Avocato’s obsession with protecting his son.

One time, while fleeing from another close call with ships the Lord Commander had sent after them, he noticed the first person a scared Lil Cato had gone to was him. Was he starting to replace Avocato or something? No. _No_ he could never replace Avocato, nobody could, but… Maybe he was just the next closest thing to a parent figure Cato had anymore. Gary honestly didn't know how to feel about that, he didn’t really ever think of himself becoming a parent to _anyone_ so instead he just didn't think too hard about it.

He started to notice Nightfall staring at him and Lil Cato. She seemed almost… Disapproving. Like she'd realized something that only she knew, and she was disappointed over it. He wanted to ask her, but some part of him pulled him away from doing so. Something about her huge amount of knowledge intimidated him away, again uncertain he wanted to know the answer she could give him.

It didn’t feel like it could have been that long, Gary kinda lost count of how long it’d been honestly, but Nightfall had completed rebuilding her ship. Everyone had gathered so she could give her farewell in the docking bay.

“You're leaving?” Quinn asked.

She nodded, her expression was darker than it'd been before, that same hidden secret she seemed to know dancing behind her eyes. “I am.”

“But don't you need to help us and stuff?!” Lil Cato exclaimed, very obviously a little mad she'd decide to leave when she was supposed to be assisting.

She looked at him, and the way her eyes narrowed just slightly made him immediately step back, closer to Gary. Her eyes then traveled up to meet Gary's, and he understood right away why Lil Cato had backed away. The way she looked at him was bone chilling, he felt like she was staring right through his soul. “I can't save you. This is wrong.”

“What the crap does that mean?” Gary asked in confusion, arms crossing.

“This timeline is _wrong_.” She basically growled the words, angry and frustrated.

“Wh...What?” Quinn asked, eyebrows drawing together.

Nightfall sighed, lifting a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. “I don't know what the hell Avocato did to you Gary, but something's wrong with _you_ and I know it's that damn cats fault.”

Gary frowned, expression tense. “Avocato didn't _do_ anything.” Mooncake gave a soft, uneasy hum of agreement after he said it.

“He did, I can see it all over your face when your with Mini Cato!” She threw her hand out at the kid right by Gary's side.

“ _Little_ Cato,” Lil Cato growled through his teeth.

“Whatever, I don't have time for this. I need to go back and try to fix this. _Again_.” She pulled her helmet from where it was resting under her other arm, about to put it on.

“ _Wait_!” Quinn’s yell made her pause, looking over at her past-self with an annoyed, uninterested gaze. “So that's it?! Your just going to leave because you think Gary is acting weird? He's the _definition_ of weird! All the time! No offense Gary-”

“Only a little taken-”

“ _But_ point still stands, that's a stupid thing to base your decision that this is suddenly a doomed timeline off of!” She finished, hands forming as fists at her sides. 

Nightfall narrowed her eyes again, before they fell shut as she sighed, letting the hands holding her helmet fall back down. “Okay. _Fine_. But don't blame me when you all die because of him.”

Gary wasn't sure if he should be hurt or mad at that statement, though Lil Cato took over by going with mad. “HEY! Gary would never let us all die!! _You're_ the one who was about to leave us for dead!”

Gary felt the corner of his mouth perk up, maybe what he was feeling was what one could call pride. “Heck yeah! What my lil dude said!”

“Lil dude?” Cato paused, glancing up at him.

Gary shrugged. “I made it up on the spot.”

Nightfall rolled her eyes, huffing and turning away, opening some sort of holo-screen from a device on her wrist. “Fine, I'll stay. Just leave me alone so I can work.”

Quinn gave a similar eye roll and huff (guess that made sense, she and Nightfall _were_ technically the same person) before she turned and marched away. Lil Cato turned to follow but paused when he realized Gary wasn't following too. “Gary?”

“I, uh… I just want a second to talk to her.” He flashed a smile at him. “I'll catch up, don't worry. Mooncake?” Mooncake perked, giving Gary its undivided attention immediately. “Keep an eye on him til I'm done, got it?” 

“Chookity!” Mooncake kicked its feet, grinning widely before floating after Lil Cato. 

Once they were gone, Gary turned back to Nightfall. She wasn't facing him. “What do you want Gary?” She sounded annoyed with him, which was new considering how she'd acted towards him when they first met.

Gary fidgeted, trying to figure out what he wanted to say. “When… you say Avocato did something to me… Did you know-”

“That you were in love with him?” Her head snapped to look at him and- _Oh wow_ , she looked _pissed_.

“I, uh-”

“That now because you loved him, your all obsessed with his son? With being some sort of adoptive father?!” She started pacing towards him, and she was _angry_. Gary, scared (and fully aware how freakishly strong she was), backed away nervously 

“U-Um- Nightfall?”

“That now you're not in love with Quinn- with _me,_ at ALL anymore?!” She basically yelled the last part, before realizing what she was saying. Her stride faltered, and she fell back to standing though now her shoulders were slumped, her eyes downcast. “You weren't supposed to love anyone else.”

“Is… Is this what this is about? You're all mad because I don't… like you?” Gary was beyond confused.

“YES! No, but… Agh!” She threw her hands up, covering her face as she groaned. “This is different, this doesn't feel right, and when it doesn't feel right, everyone dies. Okay?”

Gary frowned, nodding slowly. “Uh-huh… Have you thought uh, maybe just possibly, your feeling kinda jelly?”

“Jelly?” Her hands lowered just enough for her to raise a brow at him.

“Jealous. You're jealous.”

Her mouth thinned out and she seemed to be stuck thinking. “Jealous?” She finally murmured. “If I wanted to be jealous, I'd be jealous of the other me’s who get to actually be with you.”

Gary shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well. You don't seem like you've run across a time where me and Avocato have… Y'know. Maybe you're jealous for this version of you's sake?”

“I have seen a timeline where you and Avocato were together,” She admitted with a sigh.

Gary's attention snapped up immediately. “You have?”

She grimaced, looking away. “Yes, I have.”

“What happened?! What went wrong?”

Nightfall glanced at him, frowning. “You really want to know?”

Gary nodded frantically. He wanted to know. Or at least he thought he wanted to know? He just desperately wanted to know more about what would have happened if he’d just _told_ Avocato sooner.

She stared at him, as if confirming for herself he really did want this. “ _Fine._ ” Her tone was bitter as she went on. “You two got together, you were happy and lovey and trusted each other with your lives.” She placed her hands on her hips, glaring at the floor. “You saved Lil Cato, and Avocato sacrificed himself to save him, just like in this timeline.” She looked at him again. “ _You_ couldn't handle it, you died by your own hand, and Mooncake destroyed everything because of that.” She turned, obviously even more upset than she’d been before now that she’d told the story. “I’m done now, don’t talk to me.” She paced away, back to her ship.

Gary stared after her, wide eyed and shocked. What was he supposed to say in response to _that_?

“Oh, and just so you know,” She snapped, looking back over her shoulder angrily. “To answer your question from before, no. I've never seen a timeline where Avocato survives.” And just like that, she had crawled into her ship and slammed the door shut.

Gary really didn't know what to do with that information. He also confirmed for himself, yes he really, _really_ hadn’t wanted to learn the answer to that question. He didn't want to even think about it. He kinda felt like he was going to be sick in all honesty. 

“ **Gary. Are you alright?** ” H.U.E.’s voice suddenly spoke over the speakers, though quietly. He almost sounded sympathetic.

“I… I need a bit H.U.E.,” Gary murmured, staring down as his thoughts swam.

“ **...Very well. If you would like to have a cookie, you may. If that would help you feel better.** ”

Gary almost laughed, running a hand over his face. “Yeah… Thanks, I’ll think about it.”

 

He found himself in the dining area after wandering away, sitting at one of the tables. He stared down at it, tracing shapes into its metal absentmindedly with one finger. He looked up when he heard someone walk up, Lil Cato standing before him with a frown. He didn’t say anything, crawling up into the seat across the table from him. He was worried, that much was written across his face. “I… Uh… I heard what she said to you.”

Gary looked at him, eyes going wide. That meant he also heard-

“She said dad doesn’t ever make it…”

Yup. There it was. Gary grimaced. “Ah… Small fry I-” 

He didn’t get to finish, the entire ship rocked and sent both of them slamming into the window beside their table. Gary groaned, holding his head. “H.U.E. what the crap?!”

“ **It appears we are under attack.** ”

“No duh!” Lil Cato yelled, pushing himself off the window. Out came his claws and he went crawling up to the other side of the room to look out the windows. “It’s more ships from Lord Commander,” he growled once he’d hauled himself over there. “Why can’t he just leave us alone?!”

“Oh Idunno, maybe cause we have the one thing he wants the most in the entire fricking galaxy?” Gary replied, unable to even attempt to crawl to the other side like Lil Cato did. If only he had claws… 

“We need to-” Cato didn’t get to finish the ship rocking again and he yelped as he dug his claws into the nearest seat so he wouldn’t fall. Gary on the other hand, having nothing to get a good grip on, was sent banging head first into the floor. _Ouch._ “Gary!” He heard Lil Cato yell out for him, but he was already gone, completely conked out thanks to his face meeting head on with the metal.

 

 

“Gary. Wake up.”

He felt groggy, his head hurt like hell, and he vaguely took into notice he seemed to be laying on a very uncomfortable surface that was most certainly not his bed. “What the crap…?”

“Ah, good you're awake.” The voice sounded familiar, though sounded like it was coming through a voice scrambler. He heard footsteps, whoever it was walking a few paces away. “You need to get up, we’re in serious trouble right now.”

He blinked his eyes open, vision blurry at first as he adjusted. The room they were in was fairly dark, and he thought maybe he was laying on metal. The only weird thing was, the ceiling and walls almost looked like rock. He sat up, wincing and holding his head. It felt like it was gonna throb right out of his skull, he really must have hit the ground hard. He lifted his hands to look over at whoever it was who was with him and immedately recognized her. Nightfall. She was in her full suit now, including the helmet, which explained the scrambled voice.

“What happened?” He asked, struggling to his feet.

“Lord Commander caught our sorry asses, that's what happened,” She snapped, pacing around the room and looking around. The red eye-like light on her helmet was whirring, turning this way and that, analyzing everything around them.

“What?”

“Lord Commander caught us. _All_ of us.” She said, words even and sharp.

“Wait, even Mooncake?!” Gary almost tripped scrambling to her side, suddenly becoming frantic at the thought of the Lord Commander actually getting his hands on his little buddy.

“Yes, even Mooncake.”

Gary gasped, high-pitched and dramatic. “ _No._ ”

Nightfall gripped his shoulder tighter, causing him to wince, the red light within her helmet glowing brighter. “Yes. Now I need you to do me a favor.” Her hand released its death grip on his shoulder. “Shut up so I can focus and get us out.”

Gary frowned, but did as told for once. Mooncake was in the worst possible place he could be, Quinn and Lil Cato were likely not safe, he didn't even know how the Galaxy One was holding up which meant he didn't know if H.U.E., KVN or the Sames were alright- All in all, everything was looking pretty dang crappy. Nightfall didn't speak to him as she paced the length of the walls, looking for something he was unaware of. He didn't see any obvious way to leave this room, though there could be a hidden door- Oh! Duh, that must be what she was looking for, the hidden door.

She seemed to have found what she was looking for, pulling something out from her suit and locking it onto a spot on the wall. “Stand back.” She backed up, Gary backing away as well, before she raised her rifle and leveled it with the device. With a click of the trigger, a bolt of energy shot out and upon contact the device exploded. Gary only didn't fall over because he ended up gripping onto Nightfall for dear life. Before he knew it she'd shoved a gun into his hands, and commanded he follow close behind her.

The area they came out into was barren and empty, the air tense. It looked like a long, metal hallway, the only other apparent door at the other end. Lights lines the upper corners of it, and there weren't any windows in sight. “Where the crap did he put us?” Gary asked, relaxing a bit seeing nothing waiting for them in the hall.

Nightfall was silent, looking around slowly to assess the room, before finally she started forward. She didn't lower her gun. “Somewhere bad. Some horrible place of his creation,” She explained, “Remember he loves to play messed up mind games with people. Don't let your guard down.”

Gary tensed back up, standing straighter, before following her lead down the corridor. It was silent save for their footsteps, and they made it nearly to the door when Nightfall paused. “I need to check something, Gary go check the door.”

He nodded, going ahead to check it out. It was big, metal and also had no way to open it. “Uhh, Nightfall we're having a situation over here. A door knob situation. Or, the lack of one?” He frowned, turning to look at her for assistance, only to be confused when he saw her standing with a hand on the wall.

She had taken her helmet off and she almost looked sad. _Almost_. “Sorry Gary.” She pushed a hidden panel on the wall, and he looked back as the door swished open. “Doomed timeline, remember?” By the time he looked back she'd already lifted her gun and shot. The energy blast hit him square in the chest and he was sent flying backwards through the doorway and into darkness.

What the hell just happened? Did Nightfall just betray him?

 _Good GOSH_ that guns blast hurt.

Why couldn't he see anything? Did he get knocked out or was it just pitch black in here? He couldn’t tell. Would he be able to think this much if he was knocked out?? Did this count as dreaming…? Woah was he doing one of those dreams where you know its a dream? Weeeeird. Or the Lord Commander was doing some weird brain thing to him again. That was always a possibility. He hated how the weird brain things the Lord Commander did fel though, so he really hoped it wasn’t that.

“-ARY!”

Wait, what?

“GARY, WAKE UP PLEA- _AAAAA_!”

He felt hands on his face, small, quivering, covered in fur. They shook him. “WAKE UP! Wake up you idiot, we need yo- GAH-” Whoever it was having been sent flying only to land somewhere to his left with a thud.

Was that… Quinn and Lil Cato?

No, no there was something else too, someone else, but they hadn’t spoken yet.

“Gary.” Ah yup, there it was. The voice that hadn’t spoken yet. It was… Familiar. Too familiar. “You can hear them can’t you? Why don’t you w̸̯̍a̴̜̒k̵̥̓e̷̘͐ ̷̱̈́ư̵̫p̶̺̈?”

No wait that almost sounded like the Lord Commander at the end there- “HOLY MEATBALLS ON A STICK!” Gary’s eyes snapped open as he shot up into a seated position with a gasp. He placed a hand over his chest, breathing heavily, heart hammering too fast. “What the hell is going _on_?” He could hear what sounded like fighting, but it was muffled, like it was going on in a different room.

“Gary.” His eyes snapped forward, seeing all too familiar paw-like boots on the ground before him. Slowly his eyes traveled up and he sucked in a sharp breath. “Avocato…?”

There was something wrong with his eyes, too white, a severe lack of _pupils_ going there, but… It was _him_. God, and he was smiling down at him, soft and sweet and caring. He kneeled down, to Gary’s level since he was still seated on the floor. Gary tensed as one of his hands came to his face, but all it did was cup his cheek, thumb running gently back and forth over the skin. “You’re hurt.”

Gary couldn’t speak, his mouth opened but no words came out, just a feeble, pathetic croak. Avocato laughed at that and _good god Gary missed his laugh_ , deep and throaty, the kind that rumbles in the person's chest a bit. “Don’t worry. I’m here now.” He stood, grabbing Gary by his shoulders to gently lift him to his feet as well. “Everything will be okay.”

“ᴳᵃʳʸ!”

Gary turned his head toward the noise, he could have sworn that was Qui- A furred hand grabbed his cheek firmly, turning his gaze back to the white-eyed Avocato before him. “I missed you,” he murmured, smiling.

Gary finally found his voice, saying quietly, “I-I missed you too…” As soon as he spoke, his emotions began to catch up with him, eyes stinging and he blinked furiously to fight off the tears. “I thought you were _dead_! Or maybe you are dead… Are you a ghost? Is that’s what up with the eyes?” He gasped. “Oh no am _I_ dead?!”

Avocato laughed again. “I don’t know. Does it matter as long as we’re together?” His other hand began to raise, but before he could grab the other side of Gary’s face, there was another yell, louder this time.

“ _GARY, PLEASE_!”

“Quinn?” Gary fully turned this time, seeing the entryway to the room where all the noises were coming from.

“Gary, wait-” Avocato began but he was already taking off.

He came to a skidding halt once he was in, the room was littered with corpses of what looked like infinity guards (corrupt assholes), robots, and Gary couldn’t even _tell_ what else. But in the center the floor was cleared and there was a small, familiar figure, floating above it all, cackling as he levitated Quinn before him. She was bent awkwardly backwards, and _ouch_ one of her legs most certainly should not be able to bend that way. Gary had never seen Quinn cry before but she looked pretty damn close to it right now, eyes watering as she gasped for air in the uncomfortable position. On the floor an unmoving Lil Cato lay, his back to them. Gary could feel his heart sinking into his stomach. Quinn’s eyes met his and he’d never seen her look so _scared_. She looked as terrified as he felt seeing all of this. His eyes snapped up as he noticed, Mooncake was trapped in one of those impenetrable bubbles, floating even higher above this all. It appeared to have completely given up, resting with its eyes closed and a tired, defeated frown set upon its face.

He began to step forward, towards them, not sure what he was going to do but he couldn’t just do _nothing_. Then he felt a hand on his wrist, grip tight, pulling him back. He fell back against Avocato’s chest, and his muzzle leveled with his ear as he hugged Gary from behind. “No, stay with me Gary, they don’t need you.”

Gary tried struggling, though his attempts were dying the longer he was held because he had _missed this_. Sure Avocato had never really hugged him like this before, but the physical contact with him he felt starved for. “They do need me! Quinn’s in pain, a-and Lil Cato is-”

“It doesn’t matter,” the arms squeezed tighter around his chest, “All that matters right now is you and me. Let’s just leave, we can’t stop this anyways. Plus, they don’t care, you know that.”

Gary frowned and he came to realize something he think he already had known the moment he’d woken up. “You aren’t actually Avocato…” He murmured it, soft and sad. He didn’t get a response so he continued. “He’s controlling you isn’t he?”

“Ah so you do actually have some smarts.” It was the Lord Commander himself who was speaking now, one hand still held out towards Quinn to keep her in place as he grinned devilishly down at him. “Give up the Gary. I’ve won.”

Gary stared at him, and with a pit forming in his gut, he knew he was right. He’d… won. Really, truly won. Nightfall was right too he realized. This was a doomed timeline, there was no foreseeable way to get out of this situation alive. Heh… He almost sounded like H.U.E., who he could only assume had been destroyed along with every other robot. He thought maybe he should have been more scared at that realization, but it felt more like a calm numbness fell over him. He looked at Quinn, twisted in pain in the air, scared and staring at him like she was silently begging him to fix this somehow. He looked at Lil Cato who, now he had realized the situation, he was certain was no longer breathing. He looked at Mooncake, tired, defeated, eyes closed. And finally, he turned and looked at Avocato. He was frozen, like a puppet without its master, and those blanked out, white eyes stared straight ahead. Gary knew what he had to do. He reached back, behind him where Avocato was standing still and felt blindly for the pouches attached to his belt. He found the one he was looking for, grabbing the devices still stored there that he’d hoped would still be there through some sort of miracle.

“You’re right, you win.” He announced, right to the Lord Commander’s face. The alien faltered, confident grin of victory falling, confused by his admittance to defeat so easily. Gary moved his thumb over the trigger of the bombs he’d gotten his hands on, tried not to look at Quinn’s scared face again as he turned and pressed his face into the side of Avocato’s. There was just one more thing he needed to do before he let go. “Avocato, I love you.”

The last thing he heard was a screeched “ _NO_ ” before the explosion and then… everything turned to white.

\--------------------

Nightfall felt a little bad having betrayed Gary, but even if she _had_ helped, it ending like this was inevitable. She watched the explosion from her ship, chin resting in one hand. She'd seen Gary die countless times, watched everyone else die not too long after, but it still hurt when it happened again. It was also… Disappointing. She felt hopeless sometimes, wondering if she'd really ever be able to find a timeline where they _win._

It was maybe a week later, and she found herself in a new timeline, not yet having properly introduced herself but watching from a distance. Avocato would die soon and then she'd make her appearance. She'd learned a while ago that was the best time for her to introduce herself to everyone. But… that was odd. There was an explosion, but no corpse floating away with the debris…

She frowned, lifting a hand to tap into her holo-screens on her ship and connect to the Galaxy One’s cameras. What she saw blew her mind cause _this_ was new. “Well, would you look at that…” She murmured in awe.

Avocato wasn't dead. He was certainly messed up, looked like he was missing an arm and would probably scar in the areas the explosion had hit him but he sure as hell was alive. Gary and Quinn were panicking, picking him up carefully with Quinn commanding them through the procedure to take him to the medical room. Lil Cato was crying and begging his dad to stay alive as he followed close by their side.

Nightfall fell back against her seat, absolutely dumbfounded. She'd never seen this happen before _ever_. She'd missed what events occured before it too, so how was she supposed to know how to change the events to turn out this way? She sighed, crossing her arms and getting comfortable. She might as well wait and see what happened.

They did all they could as far as his injuries went, and Mooncake stole another robot arm for him. From the same robot he’d stolen one from before too. Poor dude. Quinn was the one who did the procedure this time, Gary watching with slight curiosity but also concern, with Lil Cato continuously making “are you sure you know what your doing” comments. Avocato didn’t wake up for a long time, H.U.E. told them to give it awhile, and slowly as time passed they all trickled out to do their own things around the ship. Lil Cato stayed though, when asked if he was going to be there all day, he replied, “I don’t have anything better to be doing.”

Hours passed, still no signs of waking from Avocato. Lil Cato had fallen asleep in one of the chairs, Gary had snuck back after Mooncake had fallen asleep in his bedroom. He’d brought out a blanket, placing it over Lil Cato carefully so he would’t not wake him before sitting down in a seat on the opposite side of the bed Avocato was placed on from him. He looked like he was whispering something to the unmoving Avocato, though it was too quiet for anything to pick it up so Nightfall couldn’t hear. Her eyes widened a bit as she saw movement, Avocato stirring. Gary seemed just as surprised, leaning back away from him in his chair out of shock. Avocato groaned, new robot hand lifting to hold his head.

“What the hell…” He paused, eyes blinking open when the hand touched his face. He lifted it, squinting at it before much more loudly restating, “WHAT THE _HELL_ -”

“AVOCATO!” Gary cried out in joy, though when Lil Cato started to stir in his sleep he immediately made a “oop” noise and covered his mouth. He lifted his hands, whisper-yelling in joy instead, “ _You’re awake_!!!”

Avocato pushed himself up to a seated position, eyes drifting from Lil Cato’s sleeping form then slowly to Gary. “I… Yeah, I’m…” He winced, grabbing his head again. “Ugh, I feel like _shit_. What happened-” he was cut off as Gary surged forward, grabbing him into a huge hug.

“We thought you were gonna die, don’t you ever try and be a hero like that again!” Gary demanded, leaning back to hold Avocato by his shoulders. He shook him, causing him to wince likely because shaking could _not_ be helping with his headache at all. “ _Do you hear me_ , no more almost dying!”

“Agh, Gary stop, stop-” He removed the hands from his shoulders. “I… How did I not die?”

“You threw it at the last second, you were trying to get it as far away from us as possible.” Gary explained, falling back into his seat with a huff. “You could of died, but… hey, look! Robo-arm bros!” Gary lifted his own replacement arm with a grin.

“Huh… Who got this on me?” Avocato didn’t reply to Gary’s comment, more interested in the handiwork of the new connection on his body as he looked it over.

“Quinn.” Gary smiled. “She’s really talented.”

“Hm, I see. Guess you love her for a reason, don’t ya?”

Gary paused. “I… Uh… Actually, Avocato, speaking of that I have something I should tell you…”

“Hm?” Avocato looked away from his new arm finally. “What is it?”

“I…”

“Dad…?” They both turned when Lil Cato spoke out quietly. He looked still half asleep, squinting groggily.

Avocato glanced back at Gary, and he just smiled reassuringly. “We can talk later, it’s okay.” Avocato smiled back, a silent thanks, before getting up to go to his son.

“Yeah its me, are you okay?”

Nightfall pursed her lips, deep in thought. Well then. Who would have thought this was a possibility? She certainly didn’t, not after how many times she watched that cat blow himself to pieces no matter what was done. She let her eyes fall shut as she released a long, slow sigh. “Okay. New plan, see how Avocato changes things by sticking around.” She sat up straighter, swiping closed the live feed of the Galaxy One as she pulled out her helmet to put it back on. If it was unavoidable Gary would be in love with Avocato in this timeline, fine. All she needed was Gary to survive… Maybe she’d finally found the key. After all, she and Avocato had a common goal. Keep those closest to them _alive_.

She sucked in a deep breath. “It’s all up to you baby, don't let me down.” With that, she turned her ship away and prepared to do a time jump to the next day. After all, she still needed to introduce herself didn't she? As her engines whirred, preparing to jump, she felt something she hadn’t felt in years. 

Hope.

**Author's Note:**

> THANK YOU FOR READING THIS LONGASS THING. I worked hard. I struggled. I died cause it was getting so long and it ended up being like, 11 pages longer than i intended for it to be?? Rip @ myself. All in all though, I'm pretty happy with this piece. It's sad, but I'm happy with it. I'm still uncertain if I'll write another part in this series, but I might. It might be fun to explore some of the timeline with Robo arm Avocato that survived, eh?
> 
> Please leave a comment with your thoughts, I'd love to hear em!!!
> 
> My blog if you wanna say hey and see me as I struggle with fics like these h a: Cylawings


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